Coast ALOX SAKs?

[JNieporte]

I was looking at the Amazon site, trying to decide what to spend a gift card on. I found some Coast-branded SAKs. I'm wondering if they're any good, and who here has any of them...

Coast Commander. $8.07 version of the Classic ALOX.

http://www.amazon.com/Coast-C5017-Multi-tool-Metal-Commander/dp/B003V1WH8I/ref=sr_1_20?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1347913661&sr=1-20

Coast 5037. $12.27 version of the Fieldmaster, but with ALOX scales and no hook.

http://www.amazon.com/Coast-C5037-Multi-tool-11-Function-Knife/dp/B003V1WH9C/ref=sr_1_52?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1347914352&sr=1-52

I might get this one.

Coast 5034. $9.67 version of the Tinker, but in ALOX.

http://www.amazon.com/Coast-C5034-Multi-tool-10-Function-Knife/dp/B003V1WH8S/ref=sr_1_53?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1347914352&sr=1-53

They look like they'd be worth the money, but I've been wrong before in regards to SAK look-a-likes.

*None of the images used here are mine.

[Syph007]

I'm sure they are equal in quality to all the other china made sak-a-likes and you get what you pay for.

All I know about Coast was Leatherman took them to court before because they were advertising their knives were made out of 440c and they weren't.  Meaning unfair price competition since they make multitools too.  I would guess they were made out of the china equivalent and they were just calling it 440c... not sure what happened with the case.

I'd always rather buy the real thing at leat you know it will be quality.  You can still get Vic alox saks for decent price on amazon and they are proven and to me worth far more than what they cost. In my opinion of course.

[clickstop]

I don't really care for the tools, but those scales do seem nice...I've never seen 91mm alox before. Could a transfer be possible, maybe?

[JNieporte]

I asked for opinions 
I found one of the Fieldmaster clones in my garage a few minutes ago. It's soaking right now (had oil, brake fluid, and other stuff all over it) but I'll be testing it our when it's clean and sharp.

[clickstop]

I asked for opinions 
I found one of the Fieldmaster clones in my garage a few minutes ago. It's soaking right now (had oil, brake fluid, and other stuff all over it) but I'll be testing it our when it's clean and sharp.

Sorry  I've handled Coast knives before, and they're decent at best. You can take a shot at them though, they may have upped their quality since I last handled one. Looking forward to the testing!

[JNieporte]

In short, don't buy it unless you don't know anything about quality knives. My review here...

The Coast tool here resembles a Victorinox Fieldmaster, except there's no hook and the Fieldmaster was never offered in ALOX (aluminum oxide; the colored metal scales). I figured, for $12 and some change, I'll try it. In terms of China-made Swiss Army Knife knock-offs, this one is okay.

The knife is 3-1/2" closed and 5/8" thick. The liners are aluminum, and the springs, blades, and pins are stainless steel. The red aluminum handle scales are a nice fire engine red, and the texture is a bit more shallow and closer-spaced than the Victorinox scales. They're a bit more slippery.

The main blade is 2-3/4" long with a 2-1/4" cutting edge. It's 1/16" thick and sports the traditional Swiss Army Knife (SAK) shape. It's flat ground and came reasonably sharp. Mine has a lot of play side-to-side. From the research I've done, blade steel is 440-A. It dulled pretty quickly; quicker than most other steels. It also resharpened quickly.

The smaller blade is 1-5/8" long with a 1-3/8" cutting edge. It's also flat ground 1/16" thick 440-A. It has play side-to-side, but not as much as the main blade. It came sharp enough to slice paper.

The saw is 3" long with 2-1/2" of teeth. It's 1/16" thick and flexible enough for a saw. The teeth are ground straight, so they cut in both pulling and pushing motions. In reality, this is identical (in size and shape) to the Victorinox saw. Mine has no play, even with use on pine and hickory.

The scissors are 2-1/2" long with 1" cutting edges. They use a Wenger-style spring to open, and came very sharp. Mine have no play. The rivet is nice and tight, but still allows the scissors to open without a problem. These can be resharpened easily.

The can opener / small screwdriver is a copy of the Victorinox design. It's 1-1/4" long with the same size and shape of the Vic can opener. It came pretty sharp and works reliably on cans. The screwdriver tip is 1/16" wide. It works on Phillips screws as well. The can opener did develop some play while in use.

The bottle opener / wire stripper / large screwdriver is also a copy of the Victorinox design. It's 1-1/4" long and the flathead driver is 3/16" wide. There's a lot of play in mine, and while it hasn't failed yet, it's come pretty close several times.

The tools on the back are the reamer and the Phillips screwdriver.
The reamer is awful. It's 1-1/2" long with a 3/4" "edge". It came very dull. It does have a sewing eye if you want it. The reamer has so much play in it, I think it's going to fall off every time I open it. When opened, it flops around.

The Phillips screwdriver is 1-3/8" long and is sized for a #2 Phillips screwhead. There's play in mine, and using it on soft wood twisted the metal, deforming it.

The last thing on the knife is the keyring. It's part of the liner, and comes with a 3/8" split ring attached to it. Nothing to write home about, but it's there.

So, the Coast 5037 is just okay. It has a few loose parts, but so do most China-made knock-offs. Is it worth the twelve dollars? If it's going to be your only knife, then yes. If you plan on owning more than one multi-task knife, then no.

*All measurement are from my ruler, not a website description.

[Reinier]

I don't really care for the tools, but those scales do seem nice...I've never seen 91mm alox before. Could a transfer be possible, maybe?

Victorinox made a couple of blue alox Master Craftsman SAKs for The Dutch Navy.

[enki_ck]

I don't really care for the tools, but those scales do seem nice...I've never seen 91mm alox before. Could a transfer be possible, maybe?

Victorinox made a couple of blue alox Master Craftsman SAKs for The Dutch Navy.

But those were smooth alox, not ribbed,, right?

[jacknife]

I don't see the point in buying a lesser quality knife when a real SAK is very affordable.
Some of the Chinese knives are very good and they have their place, but none as far
as I know, or have seen, come close to a Victorinox or Wenger.

[Syph007]

I don't see the point in buying a lesser quality knife when a real SAK is very affordable.
Some of the Chinese knives are very good and they have their place, but none as far
as I know, or have seen, come close to a Victorinox or Wenger.

I completely agree.  The major issue is that they can't come close to the quality of the Vic steel.  Low quality china steel is just aweful I wish they would just give up trying to rip them off.  China pumps out decent electronics and plastic wares, but steel, no way.

[clickstop]

I don't really care for the tools, but those scales do seem nice...I've never seen 91mm alox before. Could a transfer be possible, maybe?

Victorinox made a couple of blue alox Master Craftsman SAKs for The Dutch Navy.

But those were smooth alox, not ribbed,, right?

I think so, I'd totally forgotten about those. I'd like to see ribbed alox on the 91mm line though.

[papercut]

I'd be curious if those scales could be repurposed as 91mm Vic scales with exposed rivets et al.

[Lynn LeFey]

It came up as unavailable on Amazon for the Tinker clone.


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